In 2020, changes to the Insurance (Vehicle) Act (the Act) introduced a “no-fault” insurance model or “enhanced care” coverage for auto insurance in BC.

Recently introduced Bill M 237, Insurance (Vehicle) Amendment Act, 2026  proposes specific changes related to the time period to make a claim for benefits for a catastrophic injury and proposes a change to the meaning of a catastrophic injury.

On June 25th, Disability Alliance BC made a written submission to The Special Committee to Review Provisions of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act during their consultation process, in which we provided a number of recommendations and feedback on Bill M 237.

Read our submission below or download it here.

Learn more about the consultation here: https://consultation-portal.leg.bc.ca/consultations/230

No-Fault Should Not Mean No Voice: Ensuring Fair Access to Enhanced Care within BC’s No Fault Insurance System

Written Submission to the Special Committee to Review Provisions of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act

By Disability Alliance BC

June 25, 2026

Introduction

For almost 50 years, Disability Alliance BC (DABC) has been a provincial, cross-disability voice in BC. As a registered charity, we work to support people with all disabilities to live with dignity, independence, and as equal and full participants in the community. Our organization has several direct service programs that support people with disabilities across BC to access critical benefits and services, which range from provincial and federal income supports, filing taxes, legal advice and representation, accessibility legislation compliance and accessible housing.

DABC supports the objectives of BC’s no-fault insurance model. We recognize that the previous litigation-based system was often slow, adversarial, and costly, which effectively marginalized and inhibited many low-income people with disabilities injured in a motor vehicle accident from receiving compensation and care  We also recognize the efforts ICBC has made to improve customer service and accessibility through ongoing engagement with disability organizations, including DABC’s participation on ICBC’s Disability Advocacy Advisory Group.

However, based on feedback received from our clients, DABC believes improvements are needed to ensure that individuals understand and can effectively access the full range of benefits and supports to which they are entitled under Parts 10 and 11 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act.

Enhanced Care and its Limitations

Part 10 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act represents a significant shift from a fault-based compensation model to a benefits-based system. DABC supports the principle that individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents should receive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and income support without needing to engage in lengthy litigation to prove whose fault the accident was.

However, the removal of most rights of legal action under the Insurance (Vehicle) Act has created an unintended consequence: many people injured in motor vehicle accidents no longer have access to the advocacy and representation that previously helped them understand their rights and obtain their entitlements.

The enhanced care model is highly complex. Benefits vary depending on the nature of the injury, employment status, treatment needs, income history, and many other factors. Many individuals struggle to understand what supports are available, how to request them, and how to challenge decisions when ICBC denies or reduces their access to care.

Through DABC’s direct advocacy work, we regularly hear from individuals who do not understand what benefits they are entitled to receive with ICBC; feel unable to challenge decisions made by ICBC, experience difficulties in navigating requests from ICBC for medical documentation, and feel ill-equipped to partake in this process in which ICBC acts as both the enhanced care administrator and decision-maker.

We acknowledge that many ICBC Customer Care employees work diligently to support their customers. Nevertheless, a system that relies heavily on individual employees requires strong safeguards to ensure consistency, transparency, and accountability.

Independent Rights Advice and Advocacy

The most significant improvement the Province could make would be the creation of an independent rights advice and advocacy service for individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents.

Under the previous tort system, injured individuals often had access to legal representation that helped them understand their rights and pursue compensation. Under the enhanced care model, many people no longer have access to equivalent assistance.

An independent rights advice service could explain available benefits and entitlements under enhanced care, assist customers in navigating the enhanced care process, and help these individuals through dispute resolution with ICBC. DABC believes such a service would improve fairness while preserving the cost savings associated with the enhanced care model.

Feedback on Bill M 237

DABC supports Bill M 237. The proposed amendment extending the time period to make a claim for catastrophic injury benefits is a positive and necessary change. Individuals with catastrophic injuries often face prolonged rehabilitation, extended disability-related needs and significant disruption in daily living.

While DABC supports Bill M 237, we encourage the Committee to undertake a broader review of the catastrophic injury framework to consider the long-term impacts of chronic pain, traumatic brain injuries, psychological effects, and other disabilities which can permanently alter a person’s ability to work, participate in community life, and maintain independence.

Summary of Recommendations

• Maintain the no-fault insurance model.
• Establish an independent, publicly funded, third-party rights advice and advocacy service for individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents.
• Create stronger independent oversight and review mechanisms for enhanced care decisions.
• Improve transparency regarding eligibility criteria, enhanced care benefit calculations, and dispute resolution processes.
• Conduct a review of the definition of catastrophic injury to ensure it reflects the broader impacts of disability.

The theme of the Spring 2026 edition of Transition magazine is Disability Alliance Canada: Growing Our Support from Coast to Coast. As we reflect on Disability Alliance Canada’s (DAC) first year, we hear from organizations doing great work across the country and share what we’ve learned about unmet needs that will shape DAC’s systemic advocacy.

You can download it from our website in PDF format and text only format.

We’re always happy to consider articles or creative work from our community partners and from people living with a disability. If you’d like to send along your ideas or feedback, email: transition@dabc.ca.

This article was written by Robin Loxton, and originally appeared in the edition of DABC’s Transition magazine, Following Their Path: How disability trailblazers are guiding today’s advocacy (Fall/Winter 2025).

Read the full edition in PDF format here and in text-only format here.

If you’re interested in contributing to Transition as an individual or an organization, please email transition@dabc.ca.

This edition of Transition Magazine is dedicated to the late Pamela Horton. Pam served on DABC’s board of directors for close to thirty years. If you’d like to support Transition, we have set up a fund in Pam’s name. We so appreciate any contributions.

The Advocacy Access program of Disability Alliance BC (DABC) officially opened in 1989, at then-BC Coalition of the Disabled. I was one of the first two advocates to be hired and I continued to work with the program until 2016.

Over those 27 years, there were many victories, setbacks, happy moments and frustrations. I don’t feel comfortable calling myself a “trailblazer,” but here are some reflections on our advocacy work back then and what I think is still important today.

My reasons for becoming a disability advocate had a lot to do with understanding that the onset of disability is most often life-changing. We face loss of income, the need to repeatedly “prove” we have a disability to qualify for benefits, and a confusing muddle of information about programs that may or may not help us. All this, on top of living with a disability, can become overwhelming.

Today, technology has opened doors for many of us in the disability community. With a smartphone or laptop, some of us can get the information we need in minutes. But with the good news there are a number of concerns. Navigating the internet can be a headache, especially if we are not familiar with computers. Misinformation can send us in the wrong direction because we cannot tell the difference between the real and the fake. And we still don’t know whether Artificial Intelligence will save or doom the world in years to come.

Back when I first started with Advocacy Access, there was no internet, if you can imagine. Personal computers were expensive and not widely used. We recognized the importance of accessible, community-based information on benefits programs, so we created help sheets on key programs. The help sheets are still being updated and expanded by the program, and can be downloaded free from the DABC website.

Our program was concerned when more applications went online. We began to hear about access issues from people with disabilities, including applications for disability benefits. For many people, these forms were not any easier to fill out or send in. Too often, I heard reports of people believing they had submitted an online application only to find out it was never received. And, yes, I agree with those who would rather talk to a person than a computer when you’re looking for help.

One thing that has become much worse since I was with DABC is the availability of family doctors. There is a shocking number of us who don’t have a doctor at all or don’t have one who knows us. Maybe you’re one of them.

This is not only a a huge problem because our health needs are not being met, but it also means we have no one to fill out the forms to get health-related benefits and services. Accessing telehealth is better than nothing, but this is not the same as having a doctor who knows you and your history. For those of us who have a family doctor, one of the last things a doctor wants to do is spend time filling out lengthy forms. Government needs to do a better job of streamlining application processes and information requests.

My greatest concern as a disability advocate is the threat of poverty that continues to face our community. Over the years, we advocated more or less constantly for the government to increase the disability benefit rates.

Yes, there has been some progress. There are higher earnings and asset exemptions, and we have the new federal Canada Disability Benefit, the Registered Disability Savings Plan and sporadic increases in provincial disability benefits. But the reality is, for many of us, our incomes do not come close to keeping up with the rising costs of living and living with a disability.

The gap between income and daily living costs becomes more obvious each year because of the high cost of housing in British Columbia. The maximum shelter allowance for a single person on disability assistance is $500 per month. The average rent in September 2025 for a studio apartment in BC is $1,784.

No wonder so many of us are fearful of homelessness.

Now more than ever we need organizations like DABC to follow the path the community has been building over the last few decades. We also need DABC as a provincial cross-disability voice at the provincial level. Individuals continue to need information, advice and help around disability programs. And organizations and individuals are forging paths to expand disability advocacy into social justice arenas and intersectional work.

The job of an advocate is never done.

After leaving DABC in 2016, Robin moved to the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. Living in a small town, after many years of city life, has been an adjustment. But I have come to love the vitality of this community, and appreciate and support the many people who advocate for social justice.